Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline 1990 -2000
The number of Missourians age 65 and over with an income below the poverty line at the time of the 2000 Population Census declined impressively during the 1990s. In 1990 there were 99,306 Missourians age 65 and over below the poverty line; in 2000 the number had declined to 70,476 - a 29.0 percent decrease. The 14.8 percent of senior Missourians with an income below the poverty line in 1990 declined to 9.9 percent of senior Missourians in 2000.
It is especially notable also that the number and percent of older Missourians with an income below the poverty line declined during the 1990s throughout Missouri - in 111 of the115 counties. In 74 counties the number of older citizens below the poverty level declined by more than 30 percent during the 1990s.
| Map 1 click map for larger version 
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As indicated on Map 1 there were 29 counties in 2000 in which fewer than 10 percent of seniors over age 65 were living on a poverty level income. Most of those counties were in four regions of the state: (1) all the suburban St. Louis counties; (2) Kansas City and St. Joseph and their suburban counties; (3) the four Springfield-Branson counties; and, (4) a cluster of 9 contiguous counties in central Missouri and Lake of the Ozarks area. Each of these areas has also been among a relatively small number of counties experiencing an increase in 65-84 population during the 1990s. Most of the counties with very low senior poverty levels are also among the counties having the highest household/family income in 2000.
At the other extreme there were seven counties in which more than 20 percent of the 2000 senior population had an income below the poverty line. As shown on Map 1 six of those seven counties are clustered in southeast Missouri, with three of the six being in the Bootheel. There were also 23 counties in which the percent of seniors below the poverty line fell between 15 and 20 percent. Five of those counties were in north Missouri, three in the southwest region, six in south central and eight in southeast.
Further examination of Map 1 shows that all counties in north Missouri had a senior poverty level of greater than 10 percent. Seven of the north Missouri counties had a senior poverty level of greater than 15 percent. It is of significance to recall that all north Missouri counties had a net decline of seniors age 65-84 during the 1990s. This correlation invites analysis of the extent to which more affluent older persons in north Missouri may have moved from the region in favor of a better climate or more accessible services. It is pertinent also to recall that the greatest increases in senior population during the 1990s occurred in small city and suburban counties. Those increases occurred because of relocation of senior citizens. As addidtional analysis of Missouri's senior population proceeds, the level of income and other resources of seniors who have relocated during the 1990s will be an issue receiving further consideration.
Change in Poverty Status of Senior Citizens Among Missouri Districts and Regions
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OSEDA Regional Grouping of Counties Many demographic factors vary by region within the state of Missouri. For the convenience of our user community, OSEDA prepares tables using three different regional groupings of counties: Extension, Economic Development and Transportation. For each of these groupings, one table summarizes the indicators by regional total and a second table shows values for each county grouped by region. Users may select the county grouping most helpful for their application and understanding. |
University of Missouri Extension Regions
There were significant differences among the eight extension regions in the percent of 65 and older population having an income below the poverty level. In three regions, (Central, West Central and East Central) fewer than nine percent of residents 65 and over had a poverty level income in 2000. As shown on Map 1 those regions are connected across the central part of the state - basically following the path of Interstate 70. Not only do those regions have a lower percentage of older people below the poverty line, but they also enjoy the highest levels of family and household income in 2000.
In addition to those three regions, only 10 percent of citizens age 65 and over in the Southwest region had a poverty level income in 2000. Although household income is not as great in Southwest as in the East Central, West Central and Central regions the sizable population gains in Southwest throughout the 1990s included significant numbers of persons age 65 and older. It is clear that older people relocating to Missouri during the 1990s had relatively high levels of family income.
Although all eight extension regions experienced a significant decline in the proportion of poverty level population age 65 and over during the 1990s there were four regions in which the proportion of older poor is well above the state average of 9.9 percent. The highest percentage of older poor in 2000 was in the Southeast region with 16.4 percent. It is significant though that the Southeast region had the greatest percentage decline in older poor. The 16.4 percent in 1990 is well below the 25.7 percent older poor in 1990. No other region had a decline of that magnitude.
Also well above the state average, 14.0 percent of the South Central region population age 65 and over was living on a poverty level income in 1990. Like Southeast, the South Central region also experienced a significant decline in older poor population during the 1990s - from 22.2 percent in 1990 to 14.0 percent in 2000.
It was mentioned above that rural north Missouri has been experiencing a significant decline in population age 65-84. It was suggested that a part of the older population loss in north Missouri could be attributed to older people moving from the region for a more favorable retirement location. To the extent that has occurred, it has left behind a somewhat higher proportion of lower income senior citizens. That is reflected in the Northeast and Northwest extension regions having a higher proportion of population 65 and over living below the poverty line - 13.1 percent and 11.5 percent respectively.
Missouri Department of Transportation Districts
The percent of population age 65 and above with an income below the poverty line declined significantly in each of the 10 MODOT Districts. In 2000 there were three districts (Jefferson City, Kansas City and St. Louis) in which fewer than 8.7 percent of persons age 65 and over had an income below the poverty line. Those are the only three districts in which the percent of older poor people is below the 2000 state average of 9.9 percent. These three districts also had the lowest percentage of older poor persons in 1990. Among the remaining seven districts only Springfield had a percentage (10.2 percent) of older poor at about the state average.
The proportion of older population below the poverty line in the remaining six districts ranged between 11.2 percent in the Hannibal District to 15.3 percent in the Sikeston District. Although the Willow Springs and Sikeston Districts had the highest percentage of older persons below the poverty line in 2000 those two districts had the greatest decline from 1990. In the Sikeston District the percent of poor older people declined from 23.8 percent in 1990 to 15.3 in 2000 - a decline of 8.5 percentage points. Change in the Willow Springs District was nearly the same - a decline from 23.2 percent in 1990 to 15.0 percent in 2000.
Changes of similar magnitude also occurred in Southwest Missouri. In the Joplin District the percent of older people below the poverty line declined from 19.4 percent in 1990 to 12.1 percent in 2000 - a decline of 7.3 percentage points. Similarly in the Springfield District the percent of poor older people declined from 17.9 percent in 1990 to 10.2 percent in 2000. Both the Springfield and Joplin Districts have gained population age 65 and over during the 1990s as a result of people moving into the region from other parts of Missouri and from other states. Generally those in-migrants have brought somewhat higher levels of income with them.
The proportion of older people below the poverty line remains above the state average in the St. Joseph, Macon and Hannibal Districts. In each of those districts the proportion of older people below the poverty level in 1990 was well above the state average in that year and that has continued to be the case in 2000. The population age 65-84 declined significantly throughout those three districts during the 1990s primarily because of a large death rate, but some of the population loss also occurred as a result of some older people moving from the region.
Missouri Department of Economic Development Regions
Generally the population of Missourians age 65 and above with an income below the federal poverty guideline has been declining. The percent of the 65 and older population below the poverty line declined from 14.8 percent in 1990 to 9.9 percent in 2000.
Of the 13 DED regions four had percentages of older people living below the poverty line in 2000 that were well below the state average of 9.9 percent. The lowest percentages of poor older people were found in the St. Louis and Kansas City MSAs with 7.9 percent each. In both the St. Louis and Kansas City MSAs the lowest percent of older poor is found in the suburban counties.
Only slightly higher was the 8.6 percent of poor older people in the Central Region and 8.9 percent in the Springfield-Branson Region. These four regions generally have the highest levels of household/family income in the state and have been regions in which the greatest increases in population age 65-84 have occurred. The small percent of poor among the older population in those regions is attributable both to the fact that the older population in those regions has traditionally had higher income and because older persons moving to those regions have generally been relatively affluent.
The greatest decline in percent of older people below the poverty line generally occurred in those regions that had the highest percentages of poor in 1990. The most significant decline occurred in the Bootheel Region which, in 1990, 28.8 percent of the population age 65 and over was below the poverty line. The corresponding percentage in the Bootheel in 2000 was 18.3 percent. The magnitude of decline was similar in the South Central Region. The percent of older people below the poverty line declined in the South Central Region from 27.3 percent in 1990 to 16.9 percent in 2000.
Despite the significant decline in the Bootheel and South Central Regions those two regions retain the highest percentage of poor older people in 2000 with 18.3 percent and 16.9 percent respectively.
Other than the four regions with the lowest percentage of older poor and the two regions with the highest percentages, the percent of population age 65 and older below the poverty line ranged from 11.2 percent in the Northwest Region to 13.8 percent in the North Central Region. Among those eight regions the greatest improvement during the 1990s occurred in the Southwest Region in which the percent of older poor declined from 19.3 percent in 1990 to 11.8 percent in 2000 - a 37.0 percent decline. A similarly significant improvement occurred in the Lake Ozark - Rolla Region that declined from an older population poverty rate of 19.2 percent in 1990 to 12.1 percent in 2000. Both the Southwest and the Lake Ozark -Rolla Regions have benefited from an in-migration of more affluent older population during the 1990s.
Additional tables are attached which report Missourian's Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guidelines for three different sets of regions: eight University of Missouri Extension regions; 10 Missouri Department of Transportation regions; and 13 Missouri Department of Economic Development regions.
| Detailed Tables about Missourian's Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline | ||
| The following links provide detailed tables of Missourian's Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline. They are in both HTML and Adobe Acrobat (PDF) formats. | ||
| All Missouri Counties | ||
| Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000 - By County with State Totals | HTML | |
| Regional Tables | ||
| UO/E Regions | ||
| Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000 - By County with State Totals - By UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000 - By County with State Totals - By County Within UM Extension Region | HTML | |
| DED Regions | ||
| Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000 - By County with State Totals - By DED Region | HTML | |
| Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000 - By County with State Totals - By County Within DED Region | HTML | |
| MoDOT Regions | ||
| Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000 - By County with State Totals - By DOT District | HTML | |
| Missourians Age 65 and Over with Income Below Federal Poverty Guideline, 1990-2000 - By County with State Totals - By County Within DOT District | HTML | |
This file last modified Friday May 08, 2009, 14:28:30
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